Flooding damages homes in Hermosa

August 20, 2007

Forty-seven people evacuated HERMOSA - As many as 35 houses in a subdivision in Hermosa sustained damage from flash flooding Friday night as many people were forced to flee for their lives. The houses had 2-3 feet of water in them. Three were pushed off their foundations and one drifted about a half-mile down raging Battle Creek, said Jim Daggett, Hermosa town marshal. “It's amazing that nobody got seriously injured,” he said Saturday. Authorities let residents back at noon Saturday to collect food and belongings, but they were not allowed to stay there Saturday night. Forty-seven people were evacuated, according to Chuck Albright of Rapid City, a Red Cross volunteer. He said he thinks the storm damaged up 70 homes. The storm ripped up the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railroad track, tore roofs off buildings and spawned hail that broke windows and car windshields. Intense storms hit the Black Hills area Friday night. About 5 inches of rain fell in the Hermosa area in less than two hours, ending at 8 p.m., the National Weather Service said. Battle Creek began pooling on the west side of a 10-foot-high berm holding the rail line. A trestle apparently plugged up with debris, and water began flowing over the top of the embankment into the Ferguson subdivision below, officials said. One resident, Irene Turner, 78, said she was terrified as the floodwaters pulled her out of her van and knocked her down. “I thought I was gone,” Turner said. Liz Burleson and her 4-year-old daughter were forced onto the roof of their stranded SUV due to debris - including a hissing propane tank - swirling in the waters around them. “I told her you remember your swimming lessons, you remember how you lay on your back,” Burleson said she told her daughter. Later, the Burleson family waited in their dark house, water up to their knees, until they were rescued about 10:30 or 11 p.m. They, like many in the area, did not have flood insurance. But, “We are so lucky to be alive,” Burleson said.